Novato, others settle lawsuit over girl killed by SUV

Sept. 30--The city of Novato and other defendants have settled a lawsuit by the family of Hailey Ratliff, 12, who was struck and killed by a vehicle while riding her bicycle home from school on Novato Boulevard in September 2012.

The city will pay $320,000 and has assumed no liability. All but about $30,000 of the settlement will be paid by insurance, the city said in a statement Monday morning.

"The city continues to maintain that circumstances other than the design and condition in the roadway in the area where Hailey was struck were the primary factors causing the accident," the statement said.

Hailey was in her sixth week of school at Sinaloa Middle School after her family moved from Albuquerque, N.M., and was on her way home Sept. 27 when she was struck by a rented SUV.

She was struck at about 3 p.m. while riding toward her home on Pepper Creek Way near San Marin High School. She died about two-and-a-half hours later at Children's Hospital in Oakland.

The SUV driver's employer, along with another defendant, will pay $800,000 as part of the settlement, according to a statement from Matiasic Roth & Johnson of San Francisco, the law firm that represented the Ratliff family. The lawsuit alleged, among other things, that the SUV driver was speeding.

The community rallied around the Ratliff family, holding a memorial walk in November 2012 and a tree-planting ceremony at Sinaloa in May 2013. The family, which moved back to Albuquerque shortly after Hailey's death, returned to attend the Sinaloa tree-planting.

"There has been such an outpouring from our community," Barb Curtice, one of the organizers of the tree-planting, told the Independent Journal at the time. The tree and the plaque, which bears Hailey's name and the inscription, "Have an epic day," one of her favorite expressions, were paid for by contributions from the community, Curtice said.

A memorial with flowers, candles and stuffed animals also sprang up on Novato Boulevard, and a group of neighbors and friends started a fund for the family.

"This was a real tragedy," said City Councilwoman Pat Eklund, who along with police Chief Jim Berg and other members of the council attended the memorial walk and other events connected with Hailey.

"I'm glad there is a settlement and that hopefully everyone will be able to just remember Hailey," Eklund said.

Steve Bingham, a Marin resident, attended many of the memorials and felt a special kinship with the Ratliffs because his daughter also died in a biking accident, though in another city.

"The 35 mph sign should be moved at least a half mile north to warn people coming into the urban area," Bingham said.

"There are always opportunities for the city to make improvements around town and we are continuing to do what we can to make sure that the people adhere to the rules and remember that life is irreplaceable," Eklund said.

"Everyone needs to take life a little bit slower, literally, and remember that everybody is vulnerable, whether you are walking or driving. If that happened, everyone would be safer," Eklund said.

___

(c)2014 The Marin Independent Journal (Novato, Calif.)

Visit The Marin Independent Journal (Novato, Calif.) at www.marinij.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services